Robert ABELL (c. 1605 – 1663) was Alex’s 10th great grandfather, one of 2,048 in this generation of the Miner line.

The Abells were exceptional among our ancestors having a coat of arms at the time of their immigration

Robert Abell was born about 1605 in Stapenhill, Derby, England. His parents were George ABELL and Frances COTTON. He emigrated from London in 1630. He married Joanna [__?__] about 1639. Robert died 20 Jun 1663 in Rehoboth, Mass.

Joanna [__?__] was born about 1610 in England. After Robert died, she married William Hyde of New Norwich at Rehoboth 4 June 1667 where she removed to Norwich and outlived him. Joanna died 19 Sep 1672 in Norwich, CT.

After his request for and admission to freemanship in the winter of 1630/31 (which tells us nothing about where he might have been residing in Massachusetts Bay at the time), Robert Abell disappeared from the records until 4 December 1638, when he appeared before the General Court [ MBCR 1:247], where his record immediately precedes two others relating to Weymouth. Where was Robert Abell during these seven-and-a-half years? Would an adult of substantial social status have resided in Weymouth for this entire period without creating a single record? Did he perhaps return to England for part of this time? Further evidence for this period of Robert Abell’s life would be welcome.
One record which may be relevant here comes from the records of the Providence Island Company. On 6 April 1638 “John Arrat, his wife and child, Robert Abell, John Clerke, Edmund Fole and Peter Talbot, sawyer, who were going to New England, say they are willing to go to Providence” [ Coldham 194]. If this is the Robert Abell of Weymouth it is consistent with his reappearance in New England records late in 1638, but it still leaves unexplained the gap from 1631 to 1638.

Robert sailed with the initial expedition in 1630 known as the Winthrop Fleet, which consisted of 11 ships carrying around 700 immigrants. He was “related to the Cotton family and probably emigrated under influence of Rev. John Cotton [1585–1652] or Rev. Arthur Hildersham [1563-1632] of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, who lived a few miles from the home of Abell. Derby, the home of the Cotton family, was only five miles distant.

Robert’s father, George Abell, at the age of 17 enrolled in Oxford University’s Brasenose College (8 Dec 1578). By Nov of 1580, he had become a barrister and a member of the Inner Temple. Before June 1630, he arranged an apprenticeship in London for his son, but Robert decided to try his luck in the New World, instead. This was a move that his father disapproved of, but, nevertheless, financed.

In his will, dated 8 Sep 1630, George Abell states (original spelling retained), “I bequeath unto my second sonne Robert Abell onelie a Twentie shilling peece for his childs parte in regard of ye charges I have beene at in placeing him in a good trade in London wch hee hath made noe use of and since in furnishing him for newe England where I hope he now is.”

Robert Abell’s first recorded act in America (19 October 1630) was to apply to be a freeman in the recently founded village of Weymouth. On 18 May 1631, he took the freeman’s oath. “This act endowed him with full privileges and responsibilities of citizenship in the new colony, including ownership of lands, in the exercise of which he continued to acquire holdings.”

During his time as a resident of Weymouth (1630–1643), his civic duties included serving on various types of juries (grand, petit and coroner’s), and records indicate that he accumulated a small amount of land (about 7 acres). Like many immigrants, Robert Abell did not stay indefinitely in the first place he landed. In 1643, when the opportunity to join a newly founded town presented itself, he followed Reverend Samuel Newman (and the majority of his congregation) to a place the local Wampanoag tribe called Seekonk (a portion of which was later renamed “Rehoboth”). Some of Abell’s activities while living there can be found in the following extracts from the minutes of various Rehoboth town meetings and Plymouth colonial records:

18 Feb 1646: “At a meeting of the towne it was agreed to draw lots for the new meadow, and to be divided according to person and estate, only those that were under £150 estate to be made up 150. They were drawn as followeth: [Robert Abell was number 41 on a list of 46 people].”

26 Feb 1651: “It was agreed that Robert Abell and Richard Bullock should burn the commons round about, from the Indian fence, all the neck, to the new meadow near, and so far about the fresh meadows as may be convenient; and they are to have 20s. for their pains.”

28 Mar 1653: “It was concluded and agreed upon, that Robert Abell should have three acres of meadow on the north side of the line, next the town, next the line that parteth the land of the purchasers and the town of Rehoboth. This meadow was given by Mr. Prince, Captain Standish and Mr. Winslow.”

1 Feb 1654: “Robert Abell was ordered to keep the Ordinary.”An “ordinary” is variously defined as a tavern or an inn. An establishment of this type was an important social institution in a small New England community and vital to the town’s economy.

3 July 1656 (Plymouth): “Robert Abell is allowed to keep an ordinary at Rehoboth.” [Bliss, Leonard]

1657: Abell’s name appears in a list of persons who “have taken oath of fidelities

22 Feb 1658: “At a town meeting lawfully warned, lots were drawn for the meadows that lie on the north side of the town, in order as followeth, according to person and estate: [Abell’s name is third on the list of 49 people]”

At the time of his death, Abell’s estate “amounted to £354 17s. 9d. of which ‘an house and land’ accounted for £130.

[TGMB 1:3-6] Robert Abell came from London in 1630 and resided first at Weymouth and then moved to Rehoboth in 1643. In 3 July 1656 Robert Abell was allowed by the court to keep an ordinary in Rehoboth. Admitted as a freeman 18 May 1631 and was on the list of those in Rehoboth who took the oath of fidelity in 1657. Son of GA and FC. Probably married by 1639. Joanna married 2) William Hyde of New Norwich at Rehoboth 4 June 1667 where she removed to Norwich and outlived him.

Inventory was taken 9 August 1663 and amounted to 354p 17s 9d of which the house and land accounted for 130p. Distribution of the estate was made on 3 March 1663/4.Children were Abraham; Mary, 11 April 1642, Weymouth – the rest in Rehoboth; Preserved, c1644; Caleb, c1647; Joshua, C1649; Benjamin, c1651; Experience, c1660; probably one other.[TorreyCD] ABELL, Robert1 (-Jun 1663) & Joanna _____ (-1682+), m/2 William HYDE of Norwich, CT, 1667; by 1639; Weymouth/Rehoboth {MD 15:239; Reg. 6:96, 98:173; Granberry 142; Cook-Cooper 21; Booth (1910) 21, 192; Whipple-Hill 90; Abell 2; Coxe Anc. (1915) 16, 20; Pope’s Pioneers 9}[Abell1 43] Robert Abell probably buried in Norwich’s first burying ground. Robert Abell mentioned in his father’s will in 1630 as living in America.

In His Will of 8 September 1630, George Abell of Hemington, Leicestershire, Made A Small Bequest To His Second Son Robert Abell “in Regard of The Charges I Have Been At in Placing Him in A Good Trade in London Which He Hath Made No Use of and Since in Furnishing Him For New England Where I Hope He Now Is” [Abell Gen 42, Citing 10 St. John]

Made a freeman in Weymouth 19 October 1630; oath taken 18 May 1631. He is mentioned at the Quarterly Court, Boston, 4 December 1638 and 2 June 1640 at Weymouth. In 1643, he removed from Weymouth, probably following Rev Samuel Newman, the founder of Rehoboth (called by the Indians, Seekonk). Bought Job Lanes part of the settlement. In 1651, it was agreed that Robert Abell and Richard Bullock should burn the commons…. 28 March 1653, RA got 3 acres of meadow on the north side of the line, next the town; 1 February, he was ordered to keep and ordinary; and in Plymouth 3 July 1656, he was allowed to keep an ordinary at Rehoboth. Took oath of fidelity in 1657. RA’s widow married William Hyde (Hide) of Norwich, 4 June 1667, at Rehoboth.

[NEHGR 6:96] Robert Abell, Rehoboth, Inventory dated 9 Aug 1663 valued at 354:17:9 by S Pain, T Cooper and Peter Hunt. In connection are named his “eldest son, his widow, his daughter Mary, and his 5 children”.

Line from CHARLEMAGNE
Charlemagne (Charles I), King of Franks and Roman Emporer. Married the Schwabian Princess, Hildegaard of Savoy.
Louis I “le Debonnaire”, Roman Emporer. married Lady Judith, the fair maid of Bavaria, daughter of Guelph I, Duke of Bavaria.
Charles II “the Bald”, King of France. Married Hermintrudis, daughter of Odo Count of Orleans.
Louis II “le Beque”, King of France. Married Adelheida.
Charles III “le Simple”, King of France. Married Edgina, daughter of Edward the Elder, King of England, son of Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons in England.
Louis IV “d’Outre Mer”, King of France. Married Princess Gerberger, daughter of Henry I, Auceps, the Emporer.
Gerberger, Princess of France. married Albert I, Count of Vermandois, son of Herbert II, Count of Vermandois.
Herbert III, Count of Vermandois. Married Ermengarde de Bourgones
Ortho, Count of Vermandois. Married Princess Patra.
Herbert IV Count of Vermandois. married Lady Adelaide of Valois.
Adelherd, Countess of Vermandois. Married Prince Hugh Magnus, Count of Vermandois, son of Henry I, King of France.
Lady Isabel de Vermandois, Countess of Vermandois. Married Sir Robert de Beaumont, Count of Muellent, Earl of Leicester, Lord of Belloment.
Sir Robert de Beaumont II “le Bossu”, Second Earl of Leicester, Lord of Bretuil and Poci. Married Lady Amica, daughter of Ralph de Gande (Waer) II, Lord of Breteine, Earl of Norfolk.
Sir Robert de Beaumont III, Third Earl of Leicester, Knight, Steward of England. Married Lady Petronilla, daughter of Hugh de Grantmesnil.
Lady Margeret de Beaumont. Married Saire de Quincy, Magna Charta Surety, Earl of Winchester.
Robert de Quincy. Married Helen, daughter of Llewellyn.
Margaret de Quincy. Married John de Lacie, Magna Charta Surety, Earl of Lincoln, Baron of Halton, Lord Pontefract and Blackburnshire.
Maud de Lacie. Married Richard de Clare, Eighth Earl of Clare, MGS, son of Richard de Clare.
Gilbert de Clare, Ninth Earl of Clare and Gloucester. Married Princess Joan de Acre, daughter of Edward I, King of England.
Margaret de Clare. married Hugh d’Audley, Earl of Gloucester.
Margaret d’Audley. Married Ralph de Stafford, Baron of Stafford, original Knight of Garter.
Joan de Stafford. Married John de Cherlton, Baron of Cherlton, Lord Chamberlain to King.
Lady Isabel de Cherlton. married John de Sutton, Baron Sutton of Dudley.
John de Sutton, Baron Sutton of Dudley. Married Lady Joan Clinton.
John de Sutton, Baron Sutton of Dudley. Married Constance Blount, daughter of Walter Blount.
John de Sutton, Baron Sutton of Dudley, Knight of the Garter. Married Lady Elizabeth Berkeley, daughter of Sir John Berkeley of Beverstone.
Jane de Sutton. Married Thomas Mainwaring of Ightfield, Shropshire, son of William Mainwaring and his wife Margaret, daughter of John Warren.
Cicely Mainwaring. Married John Cotton, Shropshire, Esquire, 1500, son of William Cotton and his wife Agnes, daughter of Philip Young.
Sir George Cotton, Knight and Esquire of the Body to King Henry VIII, Grantee of Combermere, Cheshire, 1541. Married mary Onley, sister of John Onley of Catesby, Northampton.
Richard Cotton, Esquire of Combermere, Cheshire. married Jane Seylyard, daughter of William Seylyard of London, and his wife Jane, daughter of Sylvester Todd.
Frances Cotton. Married George Abell, Esquire of Stapenhill, Derby and of Hemington, Leisestershire, son of Robert Abell of Stapenhill, Derby.
Robert Abell of Stapenhill, Derby and of Rehoboth, Mass. Emigrated to New England in 1630.

Children

All of the Abell brothers had sizable families (seven to ten children each), helping to perpetuate the family name in New England. Writing in 1940, genealogist Horace Abell claimed that “probably all the present day Abells of New England stock are descended from Robert’s three sons, Preserved, Caleb and Benjamin Abell. His fourth son, Joshua, did not leave any male descendants.”

2. Mary Abell

Mary’s husband Reverend Samuel Luther was born in 1636 in Boston. He was the son of an adventurous mariner named Captain John Luther (d.1645), “a focal figure in the colonies mentioned several times in Winthrop’s Journal and other colonial accounts.”Robert Abell’s new son-in-law was already famous in New England for having survived a massacre and kidnapping by a small group of Lenape tribesmen when he was only nine years old (1645) and went on to become (1685) the highly respected “settled pastor” of the First Baptist Church (still extant) of Swansea, Massachusetts for 31 years. Samuel died in 1716 in Rhode Island.

xi. Joanna Luther b. ABT. 1685 Swansea, Mass.; d. 21 MAY 1706; m. 27 May 1704 to Nathaniel Wilmarth; His parents were John Wilmarth and Ruth Kendrick and his grandparents were Sgt. Thomas WILMARTHand Elizabeth BLISS. Joanna died after the birth of their first child, Nathaniel then married He married Mary Perry 5 SEP 1706 in Scituate, Plymouth, MA,

Lieutenant Preserved Abell (d. 1724) was among those soldiers listed as having not only “served under Major [William] Bradford (1624-1703)” in King Philip’s War, but also “advanced money to sustain it.” (£7, 15s, 1d.)

Sergeant Caleb Abell (d. 1731) moved to Norwich, Connecticut in 1668 and was a selectman in 1682, constable in 1684 and 1706, townsman in 1689 and was Sergeant of the Norwich Train Band in 1701. “In the book of Grants in Norwich, there are 38 or more items to Caleb Abell.”

Caleb’s first wife Mary Miller was born 1662 Groton, CT. She had previously married : ABT. 1680 to John Loomer and had five children by him. Mary died AUG 1731 New London, CT.

Caleb’s second wife Margaret Post was born 21 Feb 1652/53. Her parents were John Post and Hester Hyde. Margaret died in Nov 1700 in Norwich, CT..

Sgt. Caleb Abell is first mentioned in the Colonial records at Dedham in 1665, petitioned for Freeman in Dedham, May 3, 1665; in 1668 moved to Norwich, Conn. In the original purchase of land when Norwich was settled, six acres having 16 rods front was assigned to Robert Wade, this he sold to Caleb Abell in 1677 and it was afterwards known as the Abell homestead. This property abutted on Town Street 16 rods, on the home lot of Morgan Bowers 72 rods, on the river 18 rods and on John Birchard land 74 rods. The location may be seen in a map on page 67 of “Caulkins’ Norwich.” On December 18, 1694 Caleb was appointed to keep his house as “an ordinari or of entertayment” for the year, or until another be chosen.

In 1697 Caleb and ten others were allowed to build a seat on the east side of the meeting house on the Leanto beams for their convenient sitting on the Lord’s Days. Rev. Huntington’s book of “Old Houses of the Ancient Town of Norwich” names 36 men whom he supposes to have been original proprietors; but one of these was Richard Wallis and another was Caleb Abell, who in 1660 was only 14 years of age. On May 2, 1728 Caleb deeded 12 1/4 acres of land to his daughter, Esperience Hide. On January 12, 1727/28 Caleb deeded to his son Noah his home lot, dwelling house and barn, all lands adjoining his home lot and lands over the river (Yantic) his pasture land lying northerly and northeasterly of William Hide dwelling house (which house was on the other side of Town Street and a little to the east) lying in two parcels, together with land on both sides of Bradford brook on north side of road leading to Lebanon, except 1 1/2 acres on south east of brook and land near Benjamin Abell’s dwelling house which he gave to his son Samuel, reserving to himself and his wife Marey the dwelling house during his life and for hers after his decease, also liberty to his daughter Hannah to dwell in said house so long as she remains unmarried and a passageway across home lot to his son Samuel to Samuel’s own land.

Caleb joined the first church of Norwich before 1701. He was Sergeant of the Norwich Train Band in 1701 and Selectman in 1682, Constable in 1684 and 1706 and Townsman in 1689. In the book of Grants in Norwich, there are 38 or more items to Caleb Abell.

ABIGAIL SLUMAN: Grave inscription: “Here lies the body of Abigail Abel, wife of Mr. Caleb Abel, a prudent and virtuous woman, who after short illness departed this life in hope of life eternal, Nov. 11, 1748 in the 70th year of her age.”

Mehitable Abell’s husband William Brewster was born 11 Aug 1695 in Norwich, New London Conn. After William married Hannah in 1716 they moved to “the Oblong” The Oblong was a strip of land 2 and 1/2 half miles along the Connecticut Border which had been ceded by the State of Connecticut to New York in 1731 in exchange for lands along Long Island Sound.

Williiam and his brother Ebenezer both deserted their wifes. Ebenezer’s wifes name was Elizabeth. After their divorces, Ebenezer and William went to Virginia. Mehitable filed for divorce 10 years after William deserted her.

Petition for Divorce-“To the Honorable Superior Court, Now setting at Windham Within and for the County on the 3rd Tuesday of March 1749. The Petition of Mehitable Bruster of Windham in Said Coynty With Whome Your Petitioner Lived in the Due Discharge of all the Duties of a Wife to him of Said William til Sum time In the Month of March In the Year 1733, at which time he the Petitioner Ever since the Year 1733 Whereupon Your Petitioner Given Willfully Deserted and Left Your Petitioner With the Total Neglect of all Duties of a Husband Toward Your Petitioner be Single and unMarried is by Law You are Inabled to Do and Your Petitioner as is Duty bound Shall Ever pray. Dated in Windham March 20th 1749.

Benjamin also held substantial property adjacent to or near his older brothers in Norwich.

7. Experience Abel

Experience’s husband Deacon John Baldwin was born 5 Dec 1654 in Guilford, CT. John died 5 Jan 1704/05 in Lebanon, CT. He was an early settler of Lebanon, Connecticut, settling there with his father in 1660, was one of the nine original members embodied in Church State, November 27, 1700, at Lebanon. He was chosen with Josiah Dewey one of the Deacons; was a Selectman in 1717.

Hello! I just wanted to let you know that I believe that you have the wrong wife of Robert de Quincy as the mother of Margaret de Quincy, who married Magna Carta surety John de Lacie. Margaret’s mother was Hawise of Chester, not Helen/Elen, daughter of Llewellyn. Source: http://www.thepeerage.com/p4271.htm#i42705. There was a second son of Saher de Quincy and Margaret de Beaumont, also named Robert, who did indeed marry Llewellyn’s daughter. But Margaret de Quincy’s parents were the elder Robert and his wife, Hawise, daughter of Hugh de Kevelioc and Bertrade de Montfort.

I am a descendant of Saher de Quincy through the elder Robert. I also descend from Robert Abell, through his daughter, Mary, who married Samuel Luther. My line continues through the Coles.

My line is in questionable because my Ancestor Pvt Zachariah Palmer his parents are William Palmer and Malinda Henderson 1811-1860 and Malinda’s Parents are
John T Henderson and Freelove Cole 1784-1870 and Freelove’s parents are
Mary Cole and Zacheus Cole 1755-1846 also Zacheus’s parents are
Joseph Cole 1729-1785 and Freelove Mason Joseph’s parents are
Hugh Cole and Martha Luther 1681-1765 and Martha’s parents are
Samuel Luther and Mary Abell 1638-1686 also Mary is the daughter of
Robert Abell